User : what happens if i stop eating but still use energy drink twice a day?
Doctor : hi
User : hello
Doctor : food has essential nutrients that is not available with drinks.
Doctor : you may be fine for sometime, until your body has reserves
Doctor : after that you will start having symptoms showing deficiency problems.
User : i've been through not eating for almost 6 months from my achalasia, and all that happened was lost weight, so i was just assuming to lose the weight that i gained after the corrective surgery that slowing down my eating and still getting the nutrients from the ensures and boosts would work
Doctor : please describe your problem in detail with details of past medical illness and treatment.
User : achalasia is a disorder when the esophagus closes not letting food into the stomach have you not heard of it?
Doctor : yes I have heard of it and I know what it is . I meant to ask you to describe your current symptoms, when was the surgery done? what medications are you taking?
Doctor : are you able to eat now?
Doctor : are you able to swallow food at present?
Doctor : please provide your height, and weight.
User : i'm not on any meds now, i had to have 2 surgeries and no progress but i'm gaining weight from me trying to eat more since a lot of it comes back up
User : i'm 5'3" and i weigh about 160
Doctor : what foods are you taking at present?
User : i've been eating regular meals, pasta, hamburgers etc
User : but everything gets 'stuck'
Doctor : if you are gaining weight on the foods that you are taking, you have to check on the calories it contains, and make sure you take low calorie foods.
Doctor : is the 'stuck' feeling there when you take liquids and semi solid food?
User : yeah.
Doctor : have you consulted any dietitian/nutritionist for your weight gain problem?
User : i've been to a 'world known esophagus expert' and he said he doesn't know what's wrong and he did the last surgery.
Doctor : ok
User : my main question is, how much weight do you lose if you stop eating for a week?
Doctor : how was the achalasia diagnosed for you?
Doctor : you will not lose much weight if you stop eating for a week, you will be hypoglycemic and have gastritis related problems.
Doctor : weight loss is a long term process, and should be done with a proper diet and fitness regime.
Doctor : such that your body continues to get the essential nutrients
Doctor : how was the achalasia diagnosed for you? what investigations were done?
User : i had to get an xray for a rib injury and they saw the food stuck then it took 3 doctors a few weeks to diagnose me
Doctor : was an endoscopy done anytime to confirm the diagnosis?
User : i've had so many endoscopies i can't even count haha
Doctor : please provide your age.
User : 20
Doctor : what were the endoscopy fondings?
Doctor : *findings
Doctor : do you have a copy of the recent endoscopy report?
User : a lot of stomach acid, and narrowing
Doctor : if yes please send for me to have a look
User : i don't have one with me at the moment, sorry.
Doctor : where was the narrowing detected, which part of the esophagus?
User : i've done barium tests too
User : the lower half
Doctor : ok
User : i've had this problem since i was 16
Doctor : ok
Doctor : during your last endoscopies, were intra-sphincteric injections tried to solve the achalasia?
Doctor : for the patients in whom the surgery fails, there is endoscopic dilatation and injections that are given.
User : yeah, that was tried, also pneumatic dilation, botox injections, and the ballooning
Doctor : ok
User : they would work for at most a week
Doctor : if all these have failed then a 'fundoplication' or a 'esophagectomy' should be tried as a last option to treat it.
Doctor : for the weight gain issue you have to count your calories intake and stick to a low carbohydrate and low protein diet (low calorie).
ser : i've had 2 fundoplication's the second was a redo
Doctor : ok